As per the latest statistics, marriages in India are getting increasingly unstable. This phenomenon is more rife in the cities than in the rural areas. Rural India faces different type of marital issues; where us among the urban population marriages are breaking down at an alarming level. The number of divorces in the cities is increasing every year.

Whenever there are problems with the basic unit of the nation, there will be lot of other problems crop up in the country. Why are marriages becoming increasingly unstable in India? One of the main reasons for marriages not working out too well is the lack of support from the larger family. The concept of joint families is dying out in the cities. People want to be independent and they set up satellite families soon after their marriage. So families lack guidance from the elders. Moreover, they do not have anyone else to turn to whenever there are problems between the husband and wife. They rely totally on their inner resources, which often do not last for long.

Secondly, Indian women have started becoming increasingly independent, which is an appreciable aspect. The level of women literacy is increasing. As a result, the number of working women is also increasing. When women also share equal responsibility as the breadwinners of the family, they tend to be more independent in terms of taking decisions. They are no more submissive; in some cases, they are assertive where as in other cases they become dominating. When women are no more tied up to the kitchens and household chores, they become more outgoing and confident. This confidence at times works against their own marriage.

Thirdly, promiscuity is on the increase among both men and women. The moral stand of the society is getting diluted; in today’s India, anything will go. So this leads to problems in marital life leading to divorce.

It is the children that get affected through unstable marriages. If the children are adults, they will be able to cope with the situation better. On the other hand, if the children are still growing up, they do not understand the problem in the first place. Besides that even if they understand the issues between their parents, they do not have the mental tools to handle the problem. They grow up in a highly insecure environment. This leads to bigger problems. Our children too will end up having problems in their marriage. They will not be able to enter into stable relationships or they may be afraid of entering into any form of stable relationship because they have grown up in an environment whereby relationships fail.

Families and couples have to revisit their marital relationship constantly to ensure that there is no gulf developing between both partners. If there are any such issues it has to be nipped in the bud by having an open discussion rather than allowing it to grow too big to be handled.

Marriages are becoming increasingly unstable everywhere. While I don't think that any parents should force their kids to marry a certain person, I do think that the children should take the advice of the parents. For a good marriage you need more than just attraction, and often parents can see qualities and traits that the children overlook.

I second SweetZ... Parents advice should be given importance when you decide to marry someone... cuz they know you inside-out... They'll obviously know whether ur chosen partner will be able to adjust with you or not...

This scenario is everywhere not only in India. India has adopted this from western cultutre because earlier in India getting divorced was very rare but now its common. This is really sad considering our culture, i don't know where we are heading towards.

I agree with the information posted by Harpreet, separation and divorce is very common now in India it was actually a place where you would least accept it. Although it is the same worldwide, but I think Harpreet was referring to India, as its something which is not accepted to happen in India and its becoming common like she has mentioned.

are there any statistics done? what percentage of marriages end
in divorce

1. now
2. 10 years back
3. 20 years back

I am willing to guess it is less than 5% now

-F

I'm sure Harpreet wont give the whole detailed results now, and she wont probably know either as she has said as per latest statistics, so its not necessary she would have seen the statistics.
Mr Farce you like getting to the bottom of things dont you?

Yes, I am a skeptic most of the time. As they say in a Tamil proverb

what you see is not necessarily true
what you hear is not necessarily true
what you dilligently research and find out is the truth.

-F

I think its a bit positive trend if divorces are on rise (in a controlled/genuine manner)... Earlier an Indian woman used to live under lot of pressure from society... She had to go through so much of pain.. She couldn't do anything if her husband was a drunkard... Or if he was having an [URL="http://www.indiabroadband.net/relationships/11938-extra-marital-affairs.html"]extra marital affair[/URL]... or if her husband and inlaws used to torture her etc...

But now urban Indian women know about their rights... They know that they can't let anybody abuse their life... They know that they can take care of themselves... In short they are not dependent on a man to take care of them and their kids...

That said... divorce should be the last option... as it affects children most... But that doesn't mean that a woman don't have the right to rebuild her life... as you get only one chance to live... and life is too short to be destroyed by someone else!

@Maddy - Totally agree with what you say

@Farce - Sometimes research can be slightly wrong too, that's sometimes! But in this case, its easily seen, so no need of hard evidence really.

I didn't see the statistics for this, but I also heard this lately too.

here, many people think that marriage is not a commitment at all. That marriages and lives are disposable. If you do not like who you live with, just divorce. And up until 30 years ago divorce was a dirty word. You just hushed it. Now its no big deal. Its part ofteh American culture.
I am one of those who got divorced, after 11 years of marriage. I stuck it out as long as I could.
Violence in families is on the rise here.

if you get influence from outside sources and people see what they think they want there will be strife.

Every culture has its mores and rules and unwritten ways about doing things. when those are challenged and new ideas are brought in, events escalate to astonishing levels, and often marriages are broken, families are torn apart and in some sad instances extreme endings are bound to happen.

India isn't the only place that this is happening. It's everywhere. People are finding more reasons to divorce. I don't think that's a good thing, but if a person is leaving a bad or loveless marriage to be with someone that they truly love, then it's okay. I think people just don't want to work out their problems anymore. They're looking for that easy, quick fix.